I watched a beautiful documentary film short, which lead me through the process of discovery in the development of a Cardboard Bike. Now, I’ve heard of bikes made of steel, titanium, and even wood, but cardboard? Meet Israeli inventor Izhar Gafni. As with all good design, he began with a question. “Can you make an affordable and practical bicycle out of cardboard?” I admit, I love a problem where the solution demands we reject what we think we know, and pushes us to challenge the expected. Can cardboard behave structurally? Will it stand up to repeated use? Is it lightweight? Durable? When Izahr was told his idea was ‘impossible’, he didn’t give up. He designed several prototypes, resulting in some startling discoveries. ‘Gafni eventually found that by using the principals of Japanese origami, he could increase the weight-bearing capabilities of the cardboard by almost three times.’ He worked through many material challenges, patiently, one at a time. The end result is a bike, made of cardboard, which is strong, durable, and lightweight. A creative design process, founded in discovery and trial and error. Congratulations Mr. Gafni. Say, can get one in orange please?

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Welcome to "Musings", FLOR's blog dedicated to design inspiration. We've invited a few of our friends to share their personal design thoughts and experiences. We hope you leave feeling empowered and return to be inspired.